Lee Financial Co Cuts Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Lee Financial Co lowered its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,701,000 after acquiring an additional 82,456 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,632,000 after acquiring an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,088,000 after acquiring an additional 145,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,126,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after purchasing an additional 164,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.7 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $35.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.09. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.